Door-closer.



No. 824,538. PATENTED JUNE 26, 1906. W. L. GIERSDORF.

DOOR GLO$BR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1905.

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\VILLIAM L. GIERSDORF, OF COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA.

DOOR-CLOSER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'ratented June 26, 1906.

Application filed April 10, 1905. Serial No. 254,637.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. GIERsDoRF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Council Blu fis, in the county of Pottawattamie and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- Closers, of which the following is a specification. m it:

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in door-closers, and has for its object to provide a door-closer which does not depend upon the thickness of the door for actuating it, but may be applied to any door.

Preferably my door-closer is used on light doors and screen-doors; and to this end my invention consists in the use of a spring-actuated arm movably held within a saddle, which is secured to the door casing or jamb, and a plate provided with lips suitably secured to the edge of the door and adapted to strike the aforesaid arm and set the same in motion to close the door; and it further consists of the construction and arrangements of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, and definitely pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a front elevation of my improved door-closer with the door closed. Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof, showin the parts in full lines when the door is closed and in dotted lines when the door is open, while Fig. 3 shows a plan view of my lmproved door-closer as used when the door doesb not set flush with the door casing or am As shown in the drawings, A designates the door, and B the door casing or jamb, to which the U-shaped saddle C is secured, which saddle is referably made of sheet metal and provi ed with the ears 1 1 and bent at right angles thereto and secured to the door casing or j amb B by means of the screws 2. This saddle O is further provided with the curved arm or brace D, to which the coiled spring 4 is secured, and which saddle at the point marked X is constructed to provide a stop for the closing lever-arm E and keep the same from passin toofarbeyond the center line. Pivotally he (1 within this U-shaped saddle C by means of the pin 7 is the closing lever-arm E, which is provided with the lip 6. Pivotally held, bymeans of the pin 5, near the lip end of the lever-arm E is thestrap 8, which is provided with the ear 9, to which the coil-spring 4 is secured, while the opposite end of said spring is secured to the curved arm or brace D, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Secured to the door A by means of the screws 13 is the plate 10 in operative relation to the lip 6 of the closing lever-arm E, said plate 10 being bent so as to form an obtuse angle, the bent end or portion of said plate 10 being provided with the two lips 11 and 12, the lip 11 being adapted to actuate the closing lever-arm when the door sets flush with the door casing or jamb, as shown in Fig. 2, and the lip 12 being adapted to perform the same duty when the door sets in, as shown in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the lip 11 is arranged to strike the lip 6 of the lever-arm E as the door is swung closed and carry the same past the center line or dead-center, when the coiled spring 4 will pull the closing lever-arm E down against the plate 10, thereby providing a door-closer that will automatically close the door and hold the same in a closed position until the door is again opened, when the plate 10 will raise the closing lever-arm E and cause the coiled spring 4 to give until the closing lever-arm E has passe the center line or dead center, in which position it will be held by the coiled spring 4 until the door is again opened.

In using my door-closer on a door, as shown in Fig. 3, which does door casin or jamb B, I place the plate 10 back a litt e ways from the meeting edges of the door and the door-casing, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the lip 12 will strike the lip 6 of the closing lever-arm E as the door is swung closed and carry the same past the center line or dead-center, when the coiled spring 4 will pull the closing lever-arm E down against one end of the lip 1 1 of the bent plate 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, in which position it will be held by the coiled spring 4 until the door is again opened. When the door is opened, the lip 11 will raise the closing lever-arm E and cause the coiled spring 4 to give until the closing lever-arm E has passed the center line or dead-center, in which posi tion it will be held by the coiled spring 4 until the door is again closed.

As above stated, I provide a door-closer which does not depend upon the thickness or size of the door, but can be used on any door, but preferably on light doors and'screen-doors, which it has been found often warp and leave an open space at the top or bottom of the door, through which flies and other bugs may enter. It will also be noticed that my door will obviate the use of the spring-hinge usually used on screen-doors. It is of course undernot set flush with the i IIO stood that these door-closers may be made of any suitable material and size.

Having thus described my invention, What I desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is I In a doorcloser, the combination of a U- shaped saddle, a closing lever-arm having a lip, and pivotally held Within said U-shaped saddle, a strap pivotally secured to said closing leverarm., a coiled spring secured to the depending lip or ear of said strap, the opposite end. thereof being secured to the curved arm or brace of aforesaid U-shaped saddle, the curved back of said U-shaped saddle providing a stop to limit the backward movement 15 of the aforesaid closing leverarm, a plate bent in the shape of anobtuse angle and pro vided with two lips for actuating the aforesaid closing leverarm, the parts arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affnc my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM L. GIERSDORF.

W'itnesses CHAS. H. VON MANSFELDE, IDA M. humans. 

